Lee Enjoys Company in Hawaii

HONOLULU – They took him to most, if not all of his childhood games, so it’s only right he returns the favor.

Andy Lee, the 49ers three-time Pro Bowl punter, is not alone in Hawaii this week. He’s joined by one of his closest childhood friends and his parents, Paula and Chester Lee, who made the trek to the islands of Hawaii from their home in South Carolina.

The rest of the Lee family is home in South Carolina awaiting the birth of Lee’s second son, who’s due on Feb. 18.

“I feel for her, I really do,” Lee said of his 37-week pregnant wife Rachel, who flew back to their home in South Carolina along with their first-born son, 20-month-old Ryan, at the conclusion of the 49ers season. “I wish I could be with her and hopefully the baby waits till I get home to show himself. It’s going to be a fun experience, pretty much going home to be a dad.”

Lee’s been surrounded by his friends this week with kicker David Akers and long snapper Brian Jennings joining him as a few of San Francisco’s nine 2012 Pro Bowl representatives.

But despite not having the comfort of being with his wife and son, like Akers and Jennings currently have in Hawaii, Lee is doing his best to keep his mind off missing his own family.

Lee’s parents have been to his two previous Pro Bowl appearances and flew back and forth from South Carolina to each of San Francisco’s postseason games to be by his side, too.

“It’s fun to have them out here and to spend some time with them,” said Lee, who feasted on unagi meatloaf with quail egg, Caesar salad with kalua pig and macadamia nut crusted lamb chops at a family dinner in Hawaii.

Still, Lee’s been concerned with the well-being of his wife. And, he’s feeling anxiety when it comes to naming his second son.

“We’re really up in the air on this one,” said Lee, who said he’s open to taking name suggestions from fans who tweet to his @andy4lee account. “We have a couple of favorites, but sure, our fans can tweet me.

“Tweet me a cool name, but maybe something a little different.”

The naming conundrum will have to be solved at a later day. For now, Lee is just starting to reflect on the tremendous season the 49ers enjoyed under first-year coach Jim Harbaugh.

In his first year playing for Harbaugh and assistant head coach/special teams coordinator Brad Seely, Lee broke the NFL’s single-season net punting average, posting a 44.0 average on his way to being selected as a first-team All-Pro.

However, all the success isn’t solely on Lee’s shoulders, or right foot for that matter.

“I don’t think it’s really sunk in, the whole season,” Lee admitted. “I’m really proud of our guys all the way from Coach Seely what he put into this and our entire punt team. It’s just been an amazing year. They played their tails off. It’s a cool record, because it’s their record also.”

So while Lee is in Hawaii, getting over the fact he’s not playing in Indianapolis this week, the 49ers punter knows in the back of his mind that his team is on the right track to competing for a sixth Super Bowl title.

“Next year is a long ways off, but it’s exciting,” Lee admitted. “It’s tough the way it ended, but we have to go out there and do it again.

“From the success we had on the punt team to the team itself on every level, it couldn’t have been much better except for us going to the Super Bowl. We got that taste and I think we want the taste of being there.”